Gladius Sanctus

by Kyle Emmerson

Ranma 1/2 and all of its characters and situations are the creation and property of Rumiko Takahashi. I use these characters and situations without permission.

Prologue: The Sword & the Scroll

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	The courier had ridden for months. Possibly even years, surviving on the smallest amount of food possible. Stopping only to sleep in daylight, drink some water, and in some cases, buy a new horse. He had ridden by moonlight, by starlight, through rain, through shine, over mountain and river, through village and city, to get to his destination.
	Haste was of great importance to his charge. But also of great importance was the stealth involved. He avoided people at all costs, stopping only at seedy establishments for a bite to eat. A place where people wouldn't think to look twice at him, or the strange, outworldy sword he was carried. A place where he could cover his face and his arms, and nobody would ask to see him closely.
	Finally, the man had reached his destination. A small city at the western edge of the Roman Empire. Travelling across entire continents was not something any sane man would do for most reasons. But Aitaka wasn't exactly sane. At least, not anymore.
	"You are the courier?" the man with the dark complexion asked as he stepped out of the small hut in the fringes of the city.
	Aitaka stopped, and spoke as clearly as he could in the foreigner's language. "I am," he said. "Your name is Adam?"
	"Yes," Adam replied. "You have been on the road for many months, may I invite you in for some food?"
	"Caeser?"
	Adam shook his head. "No," he said. "Caeser is unaware. The entire Roman Empire stands in awe of the events last year. They are working hard at trying to contain the flow of knowledge of the event."
	"It is impossible to stem the flow of such news. It is not every day a man raises from the dead."
	Adam smiled, and shook his head. "No. No it is not. I might ask you in for food, but there is still a greater distance you must travel before your charge is over. Shall we speak over a meal?"
	Aitaka dismounted, and nodded. Before dismounting, he took a small bag and a long, thin object wrapped in clothe from his horse. He kept it clutched tightly within his hands, and followed Adam inside of his hut.
	"They are but meager dwellings," Adam explained. "But I am a man of God. I have no such need for many of these... Pagan frivilties."
	Aitaka looked over at Adam and frowned. "Keep your tongue in check, Priest," he said. "My people are some of these Pagans you speak of."
	Adam bowed and smiled. "Of course-- but it is inaccurate of you to refer to me as Priest. I hold no such title, nor will I ever." He looked Aitaka closely in the eye. "Men of God need not always be kind, gentle souls."
	"In my experience, few are," Aitaka said, then winced. "I... apologize," he said. "I did not mean to insult my host in such a fashion."
	"Nonsense," Adam said. "God gave unto man freedom of choice. I can no more stop you from your opinions as you can from mine." He brought out bread and mutton for the visitor, and set it on the table. "Besides, what we have in common is most important."
	Aitaka nodded. "Yes," he brandished the thin, cloth-covered object, and placed it on the table.
	"That is it, then?" Adam asked, motioning towards it.
	Aitaka nodded again. "It calls to me still," he said. "I have been close to it for a very long time. Many, many nights. Even still I have not laid eyes upon it, but it still calls to me."
	Adam sighed. "Forged by the fires of Masamune," he said. "Cursed forever by the wretched, but sought after by the greediest of men."
	Aitaka tore a chunk of meat from a piece of mutton and began to eat. "Yes. I do not quite understand why we cannot just melt it down."
	Adam nodded. "I understand your worry. But my Lord Yahweh has need of it. It has other functions, unseen as of yet. I do not fully understand it myself."
	"Other functions?" Aitaka seemed to wrestle with the concept. "The sword breeds evil and contempt to all who lay eyes upon it. It corrupts innocence and empowers the evil. How could it be useful to the good of heart?"
	"I do not know, Aitaka. But I am not one to question the grace of Yahweh."
	Aitaka looked up. "Has He been in contact with you?"
	Adam smirked. "Of a sort."
	"You mentioned I would have to travel further. How much?"
	Adam paused. "There is a Pagan Tribe located in the Britons," he said. "They will protect the sword and the parchment."
	Aitaka frowned. "Parchment?"
	"I'm sorry," Adam said. "I thought you had known about it." He got up and reached into a cupboard, and pulled out a rolled-up parchment, sealed with a ribbon.
	"What is it?"
	"The Sword of the Winds was cursed by a powerful magician," he said. "The same magician that created the cursed earth."
	"The cursed earth?"
	"Far east of here," he said. "In the mountains of the Orient, lies a valley once touched by God." He took a disdainful breath. "It is said that the valley was once Eden. Many of our scholars never believed the rumours, they always thought that Eden would be closer to the Holy Land, but they fail to realize. On Gods Earth, all land is holy. Even land now occupied by..."
	"Pagans," Aitaka completed.
	"Well, yes. This parchment contains the secrets of the magician. The secrets to all of his power, and the secrets to crack Eden wide open."
	"Eden was your... your paradise, was it not? The place where the first men and women of your belief came from?"
	Adam smirked. "You could say that," he said.
	"Would it be so bad to be able to return to such a place?"
	"God has forbidden us," Adam explained. "The magician was never able to break that rule, though he wished it. With the power of the savior against him, he was never able to-- so, out of jealousy and rage, he struck the land where Eden stands, pocking it with his power." He looked Aitaka in the eye. "He cursed it."
	"Where is he now?"
	Adam smiled. "Dead. The Lord God reached down and smote him from the earth."
	"Obviously acting through many of his followers, correct?"
	Adam shrugged. "The ways of God are subtle and cryptic. Mysterious, even. As men, it is not our place to question them."
	Aitaka shook his head. "And the parchment?"
	"It contains knowledge of how to remove the curse of the land," he said. "If it is used, it could reopen Eden."
	"Which God forbade."
	"Exactly," he leaned back in his stool. "And thus unmaking the earth."
	Aitaka nodded. "Why not destroy this?"
	"As with the sword-- it should not be."
	"But, if returning to Eden would unmake the world-- isn't this much too dangerous to keep intact?"
	Adam furrowed his brow. "I have often thought so as well," he said. "But it is not my place to question the decisions of the Divine Mind." He levelled a stare at Aitaka. "Nor is it yours."
	Aitaka sighed. "Then... I must go to Briton. And take this parchment with me." He held it in his hand. "Then find these--"
	"Druids," Adam said. "As Pagan as they come, but they are cooperative. The heathens they are, they understand the importance of this. They will watch them until the end of time, or until they all die out."
	Aitaka got up and placed the parchment gently into his pack. "Then I should leave," he said. "I draw much attention as it is with a covered face, and the night is still very young."
	Adam stood and agreed. "Yes. I wish there was more time for pleasantries," he said. "but both the sword and the parchment need haste in reaching their destinations."
	Aitaka bowed deeply. "Perhaps we shall meet again, Adam."
	Adam smirked. "Perhaps, friend. Perhaps in the kingdom of heaven, or perhaps in this same life."
	And without another word, Aitaka left, and Adam sat alone in his hut.
	"I hope you know what you're doing, Lord," he said. "These Pagans confuse me, but I will trust in your choices, just as I had trusted your son." He looked down at the table in front of him and sighed. "Amen, my Lord Yahweh."